Adventure

From time to time I like to ask Alex off the wall questions. The other day I asked him why he liked being married to me. I wasn't expecting what he said but, it made me think. He responded, "I can't say that there is any one favorite thing, but I do like the everyday adventure of our marriage."

I don't think that we're the most exciting people on earth. We watch a lot of Hulu and Netflix, we don't go on exotic vacations or dates, we're just normal people with a crazy dog. But, we're very happy with our lives. We spend our weekends either working on our house, spending time with family and friends or finding adventure within our own backyard.

Lately our adventures have included going garage sale-ing, visiting the farmers market, celebrating a lot of birthday's, watching star-trek (not my personal favorite), learning how to grill, and jogging on the trails and paths around our neighborhood and community.

What are your adventures?

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Special thoughts for a Monday...

Happy Memorial Day! I am very thankful for all those who have served and are currently serving. A special thank you to my big brother, Jim. You're the bravest man I know! I'm very proud of you and can't wait until you come home! Stay safe.

On a side note...

Happy Happy 4th Birthday (tomorrow) Ethan! 

You truly are an awesome little boy!

Make Your Own Hand Soap!

After I made our laundry detergent I began thinking about making our own hand soap. So, I Googled recipes for hand soap and of course scoured Pinterest and found that you only need 3 ingredients! 

Ingredients: 

Water -1 Gallon

Bar of Soap (without moisturizer)

Liquid Glycerin - 2 TBSP

I used Distilled water and had no problems, but I'm sure you could use any water you'd like. As for the soap, a lot of people who had made their own hand soap had problems when using a moisturizing soap, like Dove, so I chose Dr. Bonner's Magic soap- it's organic and fair trade- in peppermint, it smells wonderful. I found the liquid glycerin in the cake decorating isle at Michael's. So, the total for this experiment has been:

Water: $1 from Target

Soap: $4.17 from Target

Glycerin: $2.99 from Michael's

Totaling: $8.16 + tax

To make the soap  all you do is grate your bar of soap, which I repeatedly called cheese (due to the grating).

Pour your gallon of water into a HUGE pot, add your grated soap and glycerin. Stir over medium heat until all of your soap is dissolved and then let your mixture sit overnight- for at least 10 hours. 

It won't look very exciting before you go to bed...just be patient. :)  In the morning, it will look much more soap like. Stir it around to make it more consistent and then viola you have a year's (or more) supply of liquid soap!!

All of our soapy goodness!!

Enjoy!

Food Truck Friday

The return Food Truck Friday is one of the most anticipated events in the Williams' household! The three of us (yes I'm including Moose) love Food Truck Friday (from now on I will refer to it as FTF). We pack a bag with drinks, napkins, Moose food and treats, a blanket and bug spray and head across the river to Tower Grove Park. I highly suggest that if you live in the area,you add this monthly event to your calender, it's worth it. For more information on FTF, you can visit Sauce Magazine.

2013 Food Truck Friday Schedule: 

The second Friday of the month May through October

May 10

June 14

July 12

August 9

September 13

October 4

Tips and Tricks: 

-If you have children, it's best to come early so you don't have to stand in line quite as long.
-If the food is good one of two things will happen:
      1. They will run out fast or
      2. The line will be crazy long. Be patient and it will be worth the wait!
-There will be a lot of cars, don't let them overwhelm you. Plan to park and walk, it's part of the FTF experience!
- Bring your own drinks and napkins.
- If you've got a pup, don't leave him at home. Moose loves to see and smell everyone and everything when we go!
- Visit the ATM before you leave. Most of the trucks have an app on their iPhone's for debit cards, but I'm a little leery of that business, so we take cash.
- Get a cupcake. Seriously, they're fantastic! Last year I got one with an ice cream filling, it was very tasty!

See you there!!

Bedroom Dilemma

Alex and I decided that we loved the second bedroom so much, that we wanted to paint our bedroom too! We chose the same Velspar paint in "Cinder Block." However, we've got a bit of a dilemma. Where should we put our bed?  Below are some pictures and on the right sidebar please vote for where you'd like to see our bed! Thank you!!

By the wall?

OR

By the window?

Thank you!!

Thoughts for a Monday...

Let me be transparent for a minute...follow up.

A few weeks ago I told you about my Pinterest "problem" here.  After my week without Pinterest I learned:

1. I had more free time.
2. I was more content with the state of our house.
3. Alex enjoyed using the iPad a lot more often!

When my Pinterest free week was over, I began using again (that sounds like I'm an addict). But, I quickly learned that the problem wasn't Pinterst, it was my heart. I was allowing myself to sit and gawk, lust and covet over seemingly unimportant things and think it was acceptable (obviously it's not).

I'm not perfect and I still get on Pinterest. But, I limit my time and know my boundries. There is a point when something becomes a problem and you need to begin searching for a soulution. Alex and I prayed about the situation and I'm consciously try to spend less time gawking.

Philippians 4:11 {esv}
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned whatever situation I am in to be content.

In light of the subject, I found this ecard and thought it was amusing and fitting:

Thoughts for a Monday...

House Tour: Second Bedroom

Better late than never, right? This weekend my parents brought us a bed for our second bedroom, courtesy of Timm and Kendra (Thank you again!). So, the second bedroom is officially a bedroom and not just an empty room.

Before (but after the bed arrived)

I've never been a fan of the suede-ish olive green. So, after some persuasion, Alex agreed to paint for me. True to form, we chose a light grey- Velspar "Cinder Block". 

I'm really happy with how it turned out. I love the color and how much brighter the room is! If you're in the area and need a place to lay your head, now we've got a room for you! 

Sleepy Tuesday

I've said before that Tuesday is my favorite day of the work week. But today I'm feeling a little sluggish and not really interested in getting out of bed. Maybe it's dreary weather related... Hopefully a tasty breakfast will get me up and at 'em or the thought that Michael Bublè's new album releases today!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Thoughts for a Monday...

Rain, Rain...

As the rain continues to pour down I think of the cliche phrase: "April showers bring May flowers,"
but have you ever thought that April showers bring May flowers and Mayflower's bring pilgrims?

Our back yard is becoming a jungle for Moose to crawl through. As of yesterday  we have a lawn mower so, as soon as the rain clears up, Alex gets to mow. We also have some mystery sprouts growing in our rock garden, so hopefully as they continue to grow I can take pictures to find out what they are. I'm fairly certain they're not weeds...

How does your garden look?

Thoughts for a Monday....

Make your own laundry detergent

Alex and I joke that we're one step away from becoming Amish. So far we have given up cable television, Diet Coke and now, Tide. But, they're all good changes and we're learning to be more resourceful with our time and energy. (However, I cannot lie I miss Diet Coke a lot and I cheat on our Soda Stream every chance I get.)

On Pinterest, I pinned a few different DIY Laundry Detergent's and I decided to give this one a whirl. 

Shopping List: 

1 (4 lb. 12 oz.) Box Borax

1 (3 lb. 7 oz.) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 (3 lb.) Carton of OxyClean

2 (14 oz.) Bars of Zote or Fels Naptha Laundry Soap

1 (4lb.) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda 

2 (28 oz. ) Bottles of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener - I used Tropical Splash and it smells fantastic!

(The box of Milk Duds is optional...)

Now that you've assembled all of your ingredients, you may begin. The blog that I followed gave several seemingly helpful hints, but I'm a Murphy's Law kind of girl. If something should be easy, it never is. 

The other blog's suggestions to shred the Zote soap blocks were:

 

1. Grate it with a cheese grater (rumor has it that this takes forever, so that wasn't an option for me). 

2. You can "melt" it in the microwave for 1 minute and then crumble it after it's dry. 

3. Cube the soap and then put it in your food processor to shred. 

I obviously opted for #2. Melt it and one minute later you're done. WRONG. It did not go accordingly. It got runny and not fluffy or crumble-able. So, I went to Wal-Mart (again) and bought more Zote. I then cubed it and sent it through the processor (much better). 

After that's done, you just mix all of the ingredients. I started with a large mixing bowl and after my box of baking soda was in, there was no more room. So, I moved to a small-ish tote which worked perfectly. 

You won't need to purchase a scoop because there's one in the OxyClean container. Also, if you want easy pour-ability you can put your detergent in one of the empty Purex Crystal containers. The Purex cap has three lines in it. The second line is about 2 tablespoons, which is exactly how much you will need per load. Genius.  

So, the big question: Why make your own when there are shelves of ready made varieties at the store?

-This en devour cost me right at $30. Currently I do five loads of laundry per week (sheets & towels, my work clothes, 2 dark loads and 1 light). The Tide we use is good for 96 loads which is about 19 weeks of our laundry and the Tide costs $18. So annually, we spend about $55 on laundry detergent. Based on the original bloggers calculation this detergent should last over a year and only cost  us $30. Which, if you're a whiz at math you can easily see that you're saving $25/year by making your own!

-Also, you get the satisfaction of knowing that you made your own laundry detergent and it's a fun afternoon of creating! 

(I am not, whatsoever claiming that I am the originator of this "recipe" all creative rights belong to the bloggers of: Blissful 55. I am just passing along my experiences.) 

Thought for a Monday...

House Tour: Basement

The basement was a huge selling point for Alex when we were looking/buying. It has a finished portion and an unfinished portion. The unfinished portion is home to our washer and dryer, treadmill, tools and other miscellaneous things. The finished part could be called a "man cave" but I spend the same amount of time in it and it's too well decorated for that business so, no neon signs or beer fridges. The fireplace has been great this winter.Without further delay, I now present the basement-finished side:

Lesson Learned

Today I thought I'd get crafty. So, I hopped in my car with ten bucks and went to Michael's. I bought my supplies and ventured home. Being the most impatient crafter on earth, I opted to spray paint in lieu of using a brush. I went to the backyard behind our shed and began spraying. I stepped back to admire my work and noticed a drip, so I grabbed the can to add a bit more paint. This is where the lesson began....
1. Wear safety glasses while using spray paint.
2. Make sure your safety glasses aren't your pretty eye glasses.
3. Aim the paint away from your face.
4. Windex removes spray paint from pretty eye glasses.

The sad part of my story- I don't like what the paint looks like. Oh well, learn for my mistakes. :)

House Tour: Bed, Bath and Beyond

Bed, Bath and Beyond- I'm clever right? We have a two bedroom, one bathroom home, with a hallway. :)
I am still, slowly, growing accustomed to sharing a bathroom, yes we have been married over a year and half but old habits die hard. I am only showing some images of our bedroom and not the second bedroom because, someday it will actually be a bed room. As of now, it is Moose's room and that's not really much to look at.  So first, our bedroom:

It's pretty much an IKEA show room. The bed, mirror, bedside lights and tables are all from Ikea. The chair in the corner is from my Noni's house (my grandmother) and the picture of Holly (Audrey Hepburn) kissing Paul (George Peppard) is the from the iconic film Breakfast at Tiffany's. 

The hallway: 

This is taken standing in the second bedroom that you won't get to see until another day. At the other end of the hallway hangs our Thumbprint Tree. It served as our guestbook for our wedding. It is one of my most treasured pieces, I love it. I look at it every day and I get to see the thumbs and names of everyone who we care for and who care about us most.

There are some definite pro's and con's to living in an old house. In an old house you get charm and character. Some times the charm are character are really not so charming. Do you remember our plumbing snafu?! But, this little latch on our linen closet sure is charming! 

I will gladly share my bathroom with you here, hopefully if you come over, I'll share in real life too...fingers crossed!

I honestly think that this vanity saved our marriage or it just helped our bathroom problems but, still. The previous vanity was awful. Alex, his dad and brother installed this for us and I still can't thank them enough.

Stay tuned for more! 

House Tour: Living Room

If you missed yesterday's House Tour of the kitchen, you're not too far behind. Today we're leaving the kitchen and heading to the living room! This is the only room that I have no changes for. I love our living room. I love the cozy, eclectic feel. I love our archways, picture window and original hardwood floors. I love how our furniture doesn't match, but still somehow goes together. I'm glad that the room doesn't revolve around a tv and is so open to the rest of the house. So without further ado, our living room:

House Tour: Kitchen

We were very energetic and ambitious when we first bought the house. We tore down walls, laid new flooring and painted, among other things. We love our little ranchelow and know that it's a work in progress. I've been holding out on pictures for far too long. There are some things about this house I absolutely love and would never change, but there are still quite a few things on our list to do. Time is on our side and we'll take on projects at our pace, so if you come over in a week, things could be different. Without further ado, our Kitchen:

This is the view of our kitchen from the living room. (It was my snow day when I took these pictures, hence the brightness.) The dishwasher is an eyesore, but it works amazingly well, so until it dies, it stays. Alex and his dad laid the flooring, we had the wall removed about 2 days after we moved in and Alex painted the weird yellow venetian plaster to this pretty grey (anonymous by Behr). We also changed out the lighting from an 80's dated fan and sconce (above the sink). 

When they removed the wall we had them close off a doorway so the kitchen would be separate from the hallway and so we could have a pantry. This little cabinet works great! Someday we may change it or not, who knows? 

Now for the little details that make a house a home: